Vampirella #9
Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Fabiano Neves
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Colors by Marchelo Maiolo
Covers by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic, Paul Renaud, Fabiano Neves, Ale Garza
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 31, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

First off, let me be honest. I’m not a consistent reader of this character, but I used to be. I was happy to be able to read and review Vampirella #9 since it used to be one of my favorite comics. Over the years, Vampirella has had major upheavals to her origin story, so much so that it got a bit confusing at times. Eric Trautmann has been very mysterious about his version until this book. I got a few glimpses but no detailed information which, truthfully, is intriguing. Fabiano Neves brings a starker image of Vampirella than many artists have in the past…quite a few have given her a more bimbo-like appearance, but I was happy to see her dressed to kick ass, not for a lingerie shoot.

Poe
Trade Paperback Edition
Written by J. Barton Mitchell
Art by Dean Kotz
Colors by Digikore Studios
Letters by Marshall Dillon & James Dashiell
BOOM! Studios
Price: $16.99
Release Date: April 14, 2010

When I first heard that there was going to be a book where Edgar Allan Poe was going to help his policeman brother solve crimes, I was on board. I really enjoyed this exploration of the invention of detectives and detective stories through the eyes of the original inventor of the genre.

The story follows Edgar Allan Poe, who is dealing with his wife’s passing, and his brother William, the cop who is having trouble solving the murders of local citizens. While Edgar is with William at one of the crime scenes, he points out clues to the murderer, so William realizes he could use Edgar’s skills to help him solve the question of who the killer is. Of course being a story involving the Poe family there is a supernatural twist to the tale.

2 Guns TPB
Written by Steven Grant
Art by Mat Santolouco
Colors by Popart Studios, Amanda Grazini
Letters by Ed Dukeshire, Marshall Dillon, Terri Delgado
Credit Page Art by Rafael Albuquerque
Cover by Kristian Donaldson
BOOM! Studios
Cover price: $14.99; Available now

I have to admit to a bit of a bias on this, as we here from Geeks of Doom (me specifically) are quoted on the back of the collection for 2 Guns, and it’s the first time that’s ever happened to me, so I would give anything a good review, so long as they quoted me on the book because I am a shallow, shallow man. So, my review of the book can be summed up by that quote shining on the back of the book, “…fun and exciting …This is a great crime story that is worth checking out.” See, my job is done right there. But seriously, I would recommend this book to fans of crime or heist stories or those just looking for a story outside of the superhero mainstream.